9A- Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

Who: There are people who love going to the beach because of the sand.  These people enjoy laying, playing, and interacting with the sand.  These people may be kids building sand castles, lifeguards, swimmers, surfers, or people who do not see sand as a problem.

What: Attending a beach with sand has the unmet need of providing a better way to effectively remove sand from sticking to the skin or prevent it from sticking in the first place.  However, there are beaches that do not have sand but instead rocks.  This would create a different need if there is no sand at the beach.

Why: People who attend the beach daily or very frequently for leisure may not see sand the issue and problems associated with sand.  Dealing with the sand everyday may by choice because they like it or have gotten used to it.

Interview #1

In my first interview I spoke to a parent of a child who loves going to the beach.  The mother of this child told me her seven-year-old son loves playing in the sand and building sand castles and messing with the sand.  I asked her if her son ever complains of the sand sticking and she said that he loves it and never complains.  My next question was if sand gets in the car and if it is a problem.  She responded that it does but they do not go to the beach enough for cleaning the car to be a problem.

Interview #2

In my second interview I spoke to a guy in his early twenties who grew up going to the beach and working as a lifeguard over the summer.  He told me that going to the beach so often has made the factor of sand not an issue for him that needed to be addressed.  When going to the beach so often, he told me that he worried more about applying sun screen and protecting from the sun than sand sticking to the skin.

 Interview #3

In my third interview I spoke to a girl who plays beach volleyball on a frequent basis.  Often at the beach there are beach volleyball sand courts.  In my interview the girl said that whenever she goes to the beach she often tries to get a workout in by playing beach volleyball.  Also, she said that sand is a major factor when playing beach volleyball because you may have to dive and jump into the and to save it from hitting the ground.  She said sand is part of the game that does not bother her.

Interview #4

In my fourth interview I spoke to someone who lives on my floor who loves the sand at the beach because he grew up in southern California.  Growing up in southern California he grew up going to the beach on a frequent basis.  This has made him never feel like sand is an issue.  Being exposed to the beach and the sand from such a young age make the sand factor something that does not need to be addressed

Interview #5

In my fourth interview I spoke to a family friend who enjoys surfing at the beach.  In this interview we discussed the idea that after wiping out sand may get in his bathing suit due to crashing against the water.  I asked if this was an issue and he said that it’s part of surfing which he enjoys.  He sometimes wishes it didn’t happen, but overall he would rather do something he loves and deal with the sand.

	Inside the boundary		Outside the boundary
Who is in	People who do not like the sand at the beach	Who is not	People who enjoy the sand at the beach
What the need is	A better way to prevent or remove sand from sticking to the skin	What the need is not	Sand is not a bother and may be part of the job such as lifeguards who work at the beach.
Why the need exists	Sand is irritating to the skin and can get in cars which is a hassle to clean	Alternative Explanations	Sand may drive kids and volleyball players to want to go play at the beach.

 In my interviews, I discovered that people who do not see sand as an issue are the ones exposed sand on a daily basis or very frequently.  For example, someone who grew up attending the beach very often may not see sand as an issue.  Also, a lifeguard or beach volleyball player may not see sand as an issue because sand is associated with their job or activity they love doing.  A lifeguard at the beach may have to help people in the sand and a beach volleyball player may have to dive in the sand to hit a ball.  These interviews have shown me that although sand may affect some people, there may be people who do not see sand as an issue.